The Dodgers have recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned left-handed reliever Scott Alexander to OKC, per a team announcement. This may only be a short-term move by LA, which is dealing with an injury to Yasiel Puig and needed another outfielder for the second half of its doubleheader Saturday in San Francisco.
The 21-year-old Verdugo will play right field and bat second Saturday night for the Dodgers, who took a 15-6 decision over the Giants earlier in the day. Puig departed that game with a potential foot issue and will undergo X-rays, opening up room for Verdugo to come off the Dodgers’ taxi squad.
This isn’t the first major league action for Verdugo, a second-round pick in 2014 who debuted in the league last year and struggled over a small sample size of 25 plate appearances (174/.240/.304). He was far better during his initial taste of Triple-A action, hitting .314/.389/.436 (118 wRC+) in 495 PAs to further bolster his status as a high-end farmhand. The lefty-swinger ranks as MLB.com’s second-best Dodgers prospect, trailing starter Walker Buehler (who was on the hill for his first career win in Game 1 on Saturday), and the outlet’s 32nd overall prospect in the sport.
While Verdugo hasn’t dominated of the gates in 2018, evidenced by a .276/.309/.474 (98 wRC+) line in 81 PAs, he could still emerge as a long-term piece for the Dodgers soon. Of course, if Puig avoids a long absence, Verdugo may quickly head back to the minors. Both Puig and center fielder Chris Taylor have performed poorly this year, though each player likely has a long leash, and the Dodgers have benefited from the unexpected excellence of much-maligned corner outfielder Matt Kemp thus far.
Alexander has been anything but excellent, meanwhile, despite being one of the Dodgers’ top offseason acquisitions in a fairly low-key winter for the team. He joined the reigning NL pennant winners in a three-team trade after serving as an important member of the Royals’ bullpen last year. Alexander recorded a staggering 73.8 percent groundball rate en route to a 2.48 ERA over 69 innings, though both figures have trended in the wrong direction in 2018. In his first action with the Dodgers, the 28-year-old has posted a 6.35 ERA and a 57.1 percent grounder rate in 11 1/3 frames, to go with more walks (nine) than strikeouts (seven).
How does one go from 2.48 ERA, 59/28 K/BB ratio, ground ball rate (73.8 percent) that was highest among all relievers with at least 60 Innings pitched in 2017 — to 6.35 ERA, 1.85 WHIP in 11 games, for the Dodgers in 2018?
Two too many tacos on Taco Tuesday to turn the ERA towards terrible numbers.
Because that’s what relievers do. They’re inconsistent.
I’m beginning to think Verdugo isn’t going to be a great player like the Dodgers are building him up as. Puig doesn’t look like he’ll be a Dodger after 2019 when his contract expires. Dodgers may have many outfielders but none are great.
Verdugo has a high ceiling and a high floor. He should be fine. Besides they will go hard after Harper
Dodgers have zero chance at Bryce Harper
Why is that?
I agree. I think they would rather sing Machado.
Where in the hell would Machado play?
Los Angeles. At Dodger stadium. (for home games)
What position in the infield..funny man.
Well I see it that if they sign Machado he would play 3B and the most likely scenario is moving Turner to 2B or 1B. If you move him to 1B then you move Belli to the OF. Personally I’d move Turner to 2B since we have no one and just then let our depth play OF. But signing Harper would be interesting.
Machado has stressed he’ll only play Shortstop. Why would they ever think of signing Harper with their glut of outfielders and the money it’s gonna take to keep Kershaw? Who’s gonna want Puig or Kemp?
They dont have a glut of outfielders. If they sign Harper they could DFAKemp, trade Puig who only has 1 year left, Trade joc or shift Taylor to 2B. Its not hard to find room for Harper
So their just gonna have Kemp’s 21.5.million dollars count against their payroll? “They don’t have a glut of outfielders” Joc Pederson, Chris Taylor, Alex Verdugo, Andrew Toles, Enrique Hernandez,Puig. What do you think they could possibly get for either Pederson or Puig? What about the money to retain Kershaw? Are they just gonna shoot buy the luxury tax which will hamper them for Pitching?
They could move seager to 3rd, Turner to 2nd.
Money is not an issue for the Dodgers. If they want those guys, there’s no reason they won’t be in play for them.
Can we please stop with the move Turner to 2nd. He has bad knees and wasn’t a good def 2b when he was younger and healthier. The thing here is money def is not an issue for the Dodgers. Kemp’s sting against the threshold was a one year worry. Essentially a necessary evil to reset the cap. They aren’t going to worry much about an expiring contract if he’s not producing. Where I think we get in philosophical differences is whether or not as fans we believe the FO is going to spend 400M+ in one offseason while handing out somewhat close to a 10 year contract. Personally I don’t especially as Seager and Bellinger march closer to FA. In terms of OF glut, yes I’d say they do especially with Diaz, Verdugo, and Peters marching closer and closer. In the mix you have Toles, Taylor (who not sure the Dodgers see as an everyday 2b), Puig, Pederson, and Kikè. None of that is to say if they really want Harper they should hesitate based on that mix.
Harper is by far better than all those guys. Again its not hard to make room for him. Everyone not named Kemp can be traded without issue
Kemp could be traded too, if they wanted to move him at this point. He’s performed well enough at the plate to be interesting to an AL team. And before anybody says it, no, nobody will take on the entire $21M, but at a steep discount he’d be quite tradable. If you want to talk about a tough player to move, that would be Pederson. It doesn’t matter that he’s still inexpensive if he doesn’t perform better than any of a dozen minor leaguers we could mention.
I’d rather the Dodgers sign Arenado, shift Turner to 1B, and move Bellinger to RF instead than pursue either Harper or Machado.
LOL
At no time has the FO said that they’re trying to save money this year so they can spend big on free agents next year. That is not their strategy – Zack Grienke would be a Dodger if it was. What Stan Kasten has stated many times is that they want to build from within, from their farm system. That’s where they have spent heavily. They’re (wisely) not going to sign long-term, big-money contracts that extend into a player’s late 30’s. So you can forget about Bryce Harper and the others unless the low-spending trend from last winter carries over and gains momentum.. Wake up call: They’re probably not going to re-sign Kershaw, either, which would be smart. He’s amazing in the regular season but not in the playoffs, which is what really counts. An ace carries the team to the championship, Kershaw stumbles. They might re-sign Ryu, he’s likely to be a bargain due to his arm problems – that’s their kind of free agent.
They haven’t said anything at all, either way. They don’t show their cards, and why should they? All we know is they took great pains to get themselves under the limit this year in order to reset the tax rate, which greatly reduces their exposure to going over the line next year. That actually turns out to be an important thing to know.
Every team wants to “build from within.” But no team can do that entirely if they are committed to competing. Basically what you are saying is they aren’t committed to competing, which on the 0-10 likely scale rates about a 1.5. I’m not saying they definitely go after Harper, but I would not rule it out so quickly. Apparently they’d have taken on Stanton’s contract if they’d been able to unload more payroll. The inability to flip Kemp was probably the single reason why Stanton is in NY now instead of LA.
As far as Kershaw is concerned, I can’t imagine a single Dodger fan who doesn’t fully expect him to finish his career with the Dodgers. Now, maybe your theory is the FO is totally tone-deaf and wouldn’t care about the fan revolt they’d face if Kershaw is allowed to walk. Somehow, I doubt they are.
With all due respect the Kemp trade was made after the Stanton trade which had been completed. So one has nothing to do with the other. It goes beyond dumping BMac, Kaz, & Gonzo they also asked the Marlins to take on a good portion of the contract. In other words they had no intention of taking on Stanton contract unless it was completely on their terms. An idea that the Marlins had no intention of entertaining taking on 49M+ and eating a portion of future payroll especially with NY sniffing around. With that said I’m not sure they live on the top of FA market if they do intend to resign Kersh.
Your underestimating Harper. This isnt Cespedes or Justin Upton were talking about. Harper is younger and better than any free agent in recent memory. They love young guys and he is only 26
Should have kept Alexander and instead done something to rid the roster of Baez!
OCT – I couldn’t agree more! Baez is a WASTE of a Roster Spot! Dump the Bum!